Book Review: Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex-Mex

Ever since I moved to California in the late 1970’s, I have been wanting a really good cookbook for Mexican food. I don’t mean just a few recipes, but a reference book that explains all the key ingredients of Mexican cuisine, like tomatillos, Mexican cheeses, and fresh and dried chilies. Who would expect that a book named simply “Enchiladas” would fulfill all these wishes? This one does.

Cappy Lawton and Chris Waters Dunn have teamed with chefs from some of San Antonio’s best Mexican restaurants to produce Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex-Mex, published by Trinity University Press.

This isn’t just a book about enchiladas, but a primer on all the basic techniques of the Mexican cochina, including homemade tortillas, queso fresco, crema Mexicana, and chorizo. This definitive cookbook explores the enchilada through the history of the Mexican people over thousands of years.

Not only are there sixty traditional and contemporary enchilada recipes, but there are recipes for salsas, salad, and sides to accompany them. Ever wanted to make really tender pot beans or savory refried beans? How about perfect Mexican rice, six different ways? This book explains how to prepare beautiful slow-cooked and perfectly seasoned meat fillings, as well as seafood and vegetable options. Now we can try making corn tortillas from scratch, even the colorful flavor-infused ones!

This book captures the love of Mexican food, with expertly crafted recipes, beautiful photographs, and historical details. Just what I have always wanted: a book that teaches the essentials of Mexican cooking. There is plenty of good reading material and fabulous photos that make this a great coffee-table book. The instructions and recipes are done in simple and easy-to-follow detail, so that home cooks like me will be able to make homemade enchiladas with all the fixings for family dinners.

As a blogger who lives on an avocado farm, I thought this book might be something my readers would also enjoy. I love this book, and I’m pretty sure anyone who loves avocados (and we all do, don’t we!) will love this book. (Wouldn’t it be the perfect gift along with a box of fresh California avocados?)

Order directly from the book’s website http://www.enchiladasbook.com, and a portion of every sale will go to Lighthouse for the Blind, San Antonio. I’ve never been to San Antonio, but after visiting the websites for the authors’ restaurants, I think it’s high time for a trip!

I have permission to share a recipe from the book with you, so I chose one of my favorite enchiladas: Enchiladas Suizas. This is the basic recipe from the book, but there is also a second recipe for the La Fonda Enchilada Suizas that the authors serve in their three restaurants, La Fonda on Main, Cappy’s, and Cappyccino’s in San Antonio, Texas. I’m thrilled to share that recipe with you here as well!

Enchiladas Suizas (from Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex-Mex)

Yields 12 enchiladas / Serves 4-6

Enchiladas Suizas was invented in 1950 at Sanborn’s in the historic Casa de Aulejos (House of Tiles) in Mexico City, Suizas or “Swiss,” refers to the dairy in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce:

1 pound (454 grams) tomatillos, husks removed, cored

1-2 serrano chiles, destemmed

½ medium white onion, peeled, coarsely chopped, and root end removed

3 cloves garlic, peeled

¾ bunch cilantro

1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil

1 cup (237 ml) crema Mexicana

Kosher salt to taste

For the filling:

2 cups (260 grams) poached and shredded chicken

For the assembly:

12 white corn tortillas

Vegetable oil as needed for softening tortillas

2 cups (240 grams) queso asadero or queso Chihuahua, grated

For the garnish:

1 cup (237 ml) crema Mexicana

White onion, peeled and thinly sliced

Cilantro leaves

The La Fonda On Main Enchiladas Suizas is garnished with a romaine salad!

Enchiladas Suizas, La Fonda on Main

Yields 12 enchiladas / Serves 4-6

In La Fonda’s version of this classic enchilada recipe, pepitas add a nutty flavor to the sauce, and the enchiladas are topped with Swiss cheese and garnished with a refreshing Romaine Lettuce Salad.

3 Comments

It sounds like crema mexicana is a big thing, because I saw it repeat itself a few times! I haven’t had a lot of experience cooking Mexican food (other than guacamole – which I like to put on everything), but I should really look into it because there aren’t any great Mexican restaurants around where I live. Thanks for sharing these recipes with us! The La fonda one really caught my eye.

I think Mexican food is in our California blood…(even the transplants!). This book sounds great, but I just wish I hadn’t read the for the enchiladas at midnight…those look fantastic, now I’m starving!